King of Tides (The Immortal Iron Brothers #3)

Chapter 1

Changing Tides

B alance is yet another word humans use without the full comprehension of the term. It is understandable as they have not grasped that as it is below, so is it above. Everything is a reflection.

I’ve created the sky to reflect the ocean and vice versa. Moisture is the balance of the earth, air, and sea. They flow as one to create the balance of the whole—to keep humans complete. You cannot have one without the other.

The clouds are but a reflection of the rolling ocean and turbulent sea. A way for the gods to look at their true selves and see the truth that brings them back to themselves. Balance—a measure of the emotions we allow to go unkept.

The tides roll in and crash upon the sands as a reminder of our existence. It can be a force that drags everything out into the deep, or it can force the creation of more grains of sand and life. The driving force behind the ecosystem that makes up the sea creatures Su-Vaha created and so loves.

Tides provide an energy of their own that, when mastered, harnesses a current of its own that’s unstoppable. From the moment I looked into my third son’s eyes, I knew he would master true power, strength, and the ability to harness this balance.

However, control of the mirrors of the gods is something to be shared and not burdened on the shoulders of one. I chose the one who would be that balance. I was ready to help him shoulder that burden.

My sons have been on an odyssey of their mother’s and my creation. This journey has brought them pain, and at times, they have returned the favor. Habun and I have many wrongs to right.

Just because one is absent does not mean their love isn’t there. Love is like the tides of the ocean; it’s continuously flowing. The love of a parent is the greatest current.

It will transcend time, space, and all understanding. Agape love is what I wanted for all my children. The intentions of a good heart. The empathy of a pure soul.

I thought I was building that as I shared my essence with those I deemed my siblings. Yet, the individual mind is what moves the tides, not the collective intention.

I learned this too late, and my heart has suffered. Now, I will right all wrongs and shift the tides as the grains of time mark a new time, a new era.

“She did this out of love. We must honor her memory by doing our part.” I hear Habun say as I enter ethereal pools.

I find her and Su-Vaha on the floor between the pools as Habun holds a sobbing Su in her embrace. I should have known Su-Vaha would take this hard.

She and Gü? have always been extremely close. Su-Vaha has been to Gü? as the sky has been to the ocean. Their friendship has no measure. However, this needed to be done, and it had to be done just as it has occurred.

“Why didn’t she tell me? Why wouldn’t she warn me before doing something like this?”

“Would you have stepped aside and allowed her to carry this through?” I say, alerting them both of my presence.

Su-Vaha looks up at me and wipes away her tears. I hold out my hand to her. She places her four-fingered hand in mine.

Su prefers this form she is in. She often tends to be in sea creature forms. However, at the moment, her hands and eyes are more like those of an amphibian. Like the creatures humans call frogs—her eyes and hands take on the animal’s features while others appear more humanlike.

When not in this form, she’s often in the form of a mermaid. I’m assuming she’s currently in this form after feeling the loss of our sibling and needing to surface from the pools.

She sniffles and looks up into my eyes with her amphibian ones. There’s pleading and sadness in her gaze. I can feel the hurt filling her being.

“No, I don’t think I would. If I had known, I would have taken her place,” she says tearfully.

“And this is why she could not tell you. This was her sacrifice to make.”

Su shakes her head before I finish my words. “I wish to understand. Why?”

“You will understand as things unfold. For now, as Habun has said, we must do our part. Is she ready?

“Will her gift manifest? Will she be able to harness ?ntikam this time?”

“We made sure she kept her virginity. It was a task, but it’s been done. As a result, her gift is already manifesting, and because of him, she will be able to control ?ntikam this time. He will begin to sense her now …”

Her words choke off. I already know what she was going to say. Gü?’s sacrifice has lifted the veil. My sons’ mates will no longer be hidden from them. Nor will their mates’ gifts be shielded from everyone.

They will come into who I meant for them to be from the beginning. This was Gü?’s gift to me. The ultimate sacrifice for the greater good.

“Are you sure Kenji can handle this task?”

“Yes, he has done right by us and will continue to do so,” Su-Vaha replies.

“So it has begun, my love,” Habun says as she moves to my side.

I look to her and smile. She has waited as long as I have to right this wrong. A mother’s love is a powerful thing.

Habun’s sheer will has done so much for our sons and their well-being. All I’ve done has been for her happiness and to restore my sons to their rightful place.

“Yes, it has,” I say as I place my free hand against her soft cheek.

“What of Hizmetkar? He cannot go unpunished. Allow me to?—”

“No. He was manipulated into this.”

“But his actions are his own.”

“Yes, that they are. Because of that, he will know the pain and frustration the others have grown to experience. Don’t worry, my love. I have a plan for him.”

Pain and conflict fill her eyes. This has all become more complicated than it should have. However, the guilt and pain in her eyes is something I wish to erase. None of it deserves the opportunity to mar her beauty.

My love is still as beautiful as the day I created her. I fell in love with her as well as the idea of her. My perfect creation. This is what I wanted for my sons. This was my goal in the beginning.